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Why I'm disappointed is because Kyoto Animation have shown a 3 episodes per DVD release structure for their 24 episode title Kanon. Yes, there are numerous examples where the creators want to milk out as much as possible (one gruesome example being SHUFFLE! lim. editions), but the average still revolves around 3 eps/DVD. It's just a bit surprising to me that KyoAni would make such a decission now. I mean, I get that for AIR or Fumoffu since they're shorter shows where they need all the revenue they can get...

Wasn't the first DVD of Code Geass like one episode and the collectors Box and then the rest were about 3 so far (Which at 50 episodes means roughly 16-18 for a 18:3 or 6:1 ratio) discs. Now that's milking. It's pretty bad in Japan. Another example is with FLCL a 6 episode series where instead of doing 3 DVD's with 2 episodes (U.S and still they probably could have done a 3:2 ratio) they did 6 DVD's with 1 episode each in Japan making it a 6:1 ratio (I may have the whole ratio thing reversed). 11 Volumes for Shuffle equates to an 11.5:2 or roughly 6:1 ratio which is just as bad as FLCL. It's quite common I would imagine and each DVD is often way more expensive than the U.S counterpart. That magic 6:1 number keeps popping up so its probably an industry standard to organize it that way.

Now I need to remember why I dropped Shuffle after about 5 episodes...hmmmm, it wasn't THAT bad and I've developed tolerance for that kind of show. Just needed to get past those painful Lia and Nerine arcs, but they wouldn't freaking end.

Wasn't the first DVD of Code Geass like one episode and the collectors Box and then the rest were about 3 so far (Which at 50 episodes means roughly 16-18 for a 18:3 or 6:1 ratio) discs. Now that's milking. It's pretty bad in Japan.

Yeah, 3 episodes per DVD seems to be a fairly standard approach for longer anime series (shorter ones are usually two episodes per disc). I don't know about older series, but newer titles like NANA, Honey and Clover, Kanon, and Strawberry Panic have all been released like that.

This is just a guess on my part, but I'm thinking that home video just isn't viewed the same way in Japan as in North America or Europe. In the West, TV box sets are cheap, with content providers aiming at mass-market consumption of their products. Anime is more expensive (no surprise there), but even full sets are reasonably priced to attract more customers.

In Japan, series DVDs (anime, live-action drama) seem catered to a very exclusive market - that is, only the die-hard collectors who have enough money to buy such things. Looking at Oricon sales figures, the number of units sold per volume tends to be ridiculously low (maybe 1000-5000 copies on average? Otaku-centered anime fares considerably better than the typical series, so that's probably one reason why we've seen so many of them lately. Outside of otaku, how many people are willing to spend 35,000 yen on a TV series?), so we're not talking about mass-market consumption here. As such, companies are going to squeeze as much as they can out of this exclusive consumer base.

Perhaps the rest just watch the shows on TV without ever bothering with home video. We can also consider the used and rental DVD markets, but with such small print runs involved, I can't imagine that many viewers are relying on those.

You have two waves: The spread-out, few episodes at a time with a few bonuses, stringing along the Got-To-Have-It-All-More-Money-Than-Patience people, and then followed up later with box sets for more casual fans.

It's called "maximizing profit". I'm not sure if it's unethical or not.

Hmmm, perhaps the DVDs are going to be packed with bonus material or blooper reels....

My old college roommate is the son of someone high up at Pixar. As he tells it, computer animation technology changes so fast that before each new movie, the animators like to do what's called a "ramp-up project"; a short film done to get the animators really fluent in using the new equipment and software.

So when Pixar was getting ready to do Toy Story II, the animators came up with the idea that as a ramp-up project, they'd animate the voice blooper reel from the original Toy Story.

The full ramp-up project that animated the entire blooper reel will, however, never see the light of day, as some of Tim Allen's bloopers, while hilarious, are very very much not family material...

Like rg4619 said, the 2 episode/disk format itself is not uncommon, but that's generally limited to short 1-cours series (like Haruhi). For a 24 episode series, 3 episode/disk is the more common scheme.

Having to buy 12 DVDs (especially if the price remains "normal" in the 5,000-6,000 yen range) to collect the whole series is quite a hard task even for the most devoted otakus.

One thing to realize is that many Japanese otakus watch their animes recorded (for many of them, it's impossible to stay up until the wee hours just to catch their show), so for a lot of them, buying the DVDs is simply another act of collection, as well as a way of supporting the makers. So for some, it doesn't really matter how many episodes there are on a disk. The more important question would be "how many people out there are willing to pony up their money to collect this?"

Simply put, it's milking. But hey, without it we wouldn't have animes.

Just think of it as an investment towards making CLANNAD better or something.

11 Volumes for Shuffle equates to an 11.5:2 or roughly 6:1 ratio which is just as bad as FLCL. It's quite common I would imagine and each DVD is often way more expensive than the U.S counterpart. That magic 6:1 number keeps popping up so its probably an industry standard to organize it that way.

Yup, exactly. And that's the key -- it's published by Kadokawa. Lucky Star has the same release structure as Shuffle, Karin, Canvas 2, and Mamoru-kun, among other Kadokawa-published 24-episode shows in recent memory. Kadokawa's last two Kyoto Animation projects (Haruhi and FMP:TSR) were also spread over a lot of discs.

So, Toua, it's simply because Kanon was published by Pony Canyon, who chose to release it on 8 DVDs. Kadokawa paid for Lucky Star, and they decided to use their 12-disc pattern. Kyoto Animation doesn't really have anything to do with it, so probably no sense in being disappointed in them.

Getting back to the anime itself, who's your favorite character so far? I like Kona the best, because she essentially drives each scene with her bizarre behavior. However, I have a soft spot for Tsukasa, who is easily the cutest.

Yup, exactly. And that's the key -- it's published by Kadokawa. Lucky Star has the same release structure as Shuffle, Karin, Canvas 2, and Mamoru-kun, among other Kadokawa-published 24-episode shows in recent memory. Kadokawa's last two Kyoto Animation projects (Haruhi and FMP:TSR) were also spread over a lot of discs.

So, Toua, it's simply because Kanon was published by Pony Canyon, who chose to release it on 8 DVDs. Kadokawa paid for Lucky Star, and they decided to use their 12-disc pattern. Kyoto Animation doesn't really have anything to do with it, so probably no sense in being disappointed in them.

And no offense, but why do we care? Does anyone actually plan on buying the R2s in this thread? Actually, I'd be curious... Who is planning on buying the R2 dvds, or, for that matter, would even consider it at this point?

And no offense, but why do we care? Does anyone actually plan on buying the R2s in this thread? Actually, I'd be curious... Who is planning on buying the R2 dvds, or, for that matter, would even consider it at this point?

Is this a general question about purchasing R2 titles? Or are you asking about Lucky Star DVD's in particular? There are people actively posting in this thread who collect R2 DVD's. Many live in Region 2. There are people here who like what they've seen to date from Lucky Star. I wouldn't do it, as I don't have a compatible player, but I imagine several people here would.

Is this a general question about purchasing R2 titles? Or are you asking about Lucky Star DVD's in particular? There are people actively posting in this thread who collect R2 DVD's. Many live in Region 2. There are people here who like what they've seen to date from Lucky Star. I wouldn't do it, as I don't have a compatible player, but I imagine several people here would.

Yup, actually -- I might. I bought 5 out of the 6 other Kadokawa shows I mentioned in the last post on R2 DVD. But the fact that Kadokawa is now actively working on bringing their titles in R1 is a sway in the other direction. If I think it's a sure bet to be licensed/released in R1, then I'm less likely to buy the R2s, of course. We'll see...

Is this a general question about purchasing R2 titles? Or are you asking about Lucky Star DVD's in particular? There are people actively posting in this thread who collect R2 DVD's. Many live in Region 2. There are people here who like what they've seen to date from Lucky Star. I wouldn't do it, as I don't have a compatible player, but I imagine several people here would.

I meant the lucky star DVDs in particular. I'd only consider buying them if I lived in japan, which I don't. Although, actually, I WILL be moving there in the fall, so I might have to rethink my stance on the subject. Well, who am I kidding, I don't have that kind of money .

Getting back to the anime itself, who's your favorite character so far? I like Kona the best, because she essentially drives each scene with her bizarre behavior. However, I have a soft spot for Tsukasa, who is easily the cutest.

I've noticed a fair amount of Kagami fan art. I think she's shaping up to be the series' sex symbol. I'm sure she and Konata will get plenty of unhealthy attention when C72 roles around.

I meant the lucky star DVDs in particular. I'd only consider buying them if I lived in japan, which I don't. Although, actually, I WILL be moving there in the fall, so I might have to rethink my stance on the subject. Well, who am I kidding, I don't have that kind of money .

Once you're local, check the used shops a few weeks/months after the full set is out. Buyer's remorse, or lack of funds inducing a resell hits a lot of otaku just like it does any one else, so good deals can be found if you're willing to wait and then search a bit.